How to maintain health and vitality into your golden years of life? Can the young at heart lead an active and productive life?

When I wake up in the morning and get out of the bed, If I just went on how I felt, I would think I’m in my 20s. So I know for sure my diet, definitely my vegetarian diet has done a lot for me.

Welcome, energetic viewers, to Vegetarian Elite. Today on our show, we continue our feature on Mimi Kirk, a septuagenarian who proves that advanced age does not need to correlate with deteriorated health. Winner of a contest titled “Sexiest Vegetarian over 50,” organized by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or more commonly known as PETA, Mimi was the oldest contestant at age 71 and won hands down with her youthful looks and radiant smile. Mimi shows that there is nothing more appealing than a person who exudes compassion and respect for oneself as well as other beings.

Since winning the contest, Mimi has been invited to be a speaker at many events, such as the Women’s International Summit for Health, and interviewed by numerous media such as NBC, Fox, KUSI-TV, US national television show “The Doctors,” and ARIA TV in Bulgaria regarding her secrets for staying so youthful, radiant, and healthy.

Every day I get tons of email and people telling me I’ve inspired them to change their diet – hundreds and hundreds every week. They’re seeing me and something in them wanted to do this to begin with, to get healthier.

Turning 72 years young just two days ago, the mother of four and grandmother of seven has lead a rich and full life. For over two decades, Mimi was involved in the entertainment industry in various occupations from actress to clothing designer to charity events coordinator. As an actress, Mimi has appeared on “Star Trek” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” She designed the famous “scarf” look for Valerie Harper on “Rhoda.”

Mimi has also found herself as a successful entrepreneur with a jewelry design company and four board games released worldwide. With respect and concern for our planet, in 1989, she founded, published, and edited the environmental newspaper “The City Planet,” with editions in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, USA. Currently enjoying traveling, gardening, and hiking in beautiful San Diego, California, Mimi is happy and finds fulfillment in her latest venture in life with sharing the benefits of a more compassionate and healthier lifestyle to the general public.

So, when you transitioned to a raw diet, did you go out and buy a bunch of recipes, or did you work it out on your own?

Well, thank goodness for the Internet. I started looking around at YouTube videos and Googling everything I could about raw food. And then I went out and bought a couple of books, and I thought they were so daunting in some way because it was all new. Then all of a sudden, it just clicked. I could take any recipe and turn it into a raw recipe. And that’s what I started to do, make up some of my own recipes.

So I got started by looking. There are so many good books out today; there are fabulous books out there. And you do have to spend a little time to learn it, and you have to be organized, particularly if you’re running a household and you’re the only one in the family eating raw; or you’re trying to transition your children to eat raw. I recommend some people that they start slowly. I went 100%. I went on a detox for 7 days with my daughter, just drinking juices and eating salads, no oils or fats or anything for 7 days. And when I finished that, I knew that that was the way I was going to eat. That was it.

But I still go back to that green drink. That gets you started. Just think about it, you could put 6, 7, 8 vegetables and fruits in one drink. It’s pre-digested, full of enzymes. It goes right to the right place and all the right cells of your body. And even if you didn’t eat the rest of the day, you would have nourishment more than you would by eating something that’s cooked or processed. That’s why I say that green drink starts to change your whole inner system. And that’s why I recommend it. I don’t get tired in the afternoon.

A lot of people see preparation of food as a chore, but you’re approaching it as an art.

It’s creative for me. I could spend a lot of time in the kitchen. It is an art for me. It’s very creative, not only the preparing of it, but how I serve it. I always add that little bit of extra greens on top, or that little bit of leaf or something in there. I always make it look good. Because when I look at that plate, it’s a piece of art, and it’s the most beautiful colors you could find in nature. Can you imagine a red pepper and a yellow pepper and an orange pepper, sweet peppers, the colors of those are amazing, or a tomato off the vine. That’s simply amazing to me, the colors.

Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television. Vegetarian Elite will be right back after these brief messages to continue with our feature on the lovely septuagenarian, Mimi Kirk.

I go to bed very, very late, I feel energetic almost all the time, so it’s live food! That’s the way I look at it. I think people, even if they are vegetarians or vegans, to include more raw food in your diet, because there’s something very special about eating the food that’s close to Mother Nature.

Thank you for joining us again for Vegetarian Elite for our program on Mimi Kirk. Her decades of vegetarian eating, meditation, and positive outlook on life helped her win PETA’s “Sexiest Vegetarian over 50” contest while being 20 years older than most of the other contestants. The 72 years young woman thrives on a raw vegan diet and is a vibrant picture of health and beauty.

You’ve been in the vegetarian movement for a very long time, how has the food changed? Do you believe that it’s becoming more popular because the food is becoming more delicious?

Yes. Food is changing, and people’s ideas are changing. And it’s so fantastic right now, that people have gardens, more people than ever have gardens. I think people aren’t happy that they’ve genetically altered our food. I think that Michelle Obama putting a garden in the White House inspired more people to have a garden in their backyard. And once you grow something, you’re hooked.

When you see a seed that starts to sprout up, it just makes you jump up and down. We put in fruit trees on our property now. It’s so beautiful to see fruits growing, and you know that’s what Mother Nature meant us to eat. So I do think that the color and the beauty of fresh food is really starting to catch on. There are so many fantastic raw food chefs today.

They’re going to school to study, and there are restaurants opening up, so fast, everywhere I look. Everywhere I go, to every city I’m in, there’s a raw food restaurant somewhere, or a vegan and vegetarian. Even when I travel now, if I’m in Italy and I’ll order something, and they say, “Oh, vegan or vegetarian,” everybody knows that. They didn’t know it back in those days. But no one questions it now, everybody knows what that means.

Wonderful!

So I’m very excited about it growing, and I think it’s only going to grow more. I really do. I have a good feeling. I think some people will still hold on to eating meat, but I do think that when they get sick, if that happens for them, they’re going to start taking a look, because they’ll remember they heard that you could get healthy by eating a certain way. So I think that’s going to happen.

Mimi’s holistic approach towards overall wellbeing is attributed to her vegan diet, meditation practice and positive attitude. On her blog, www.youngonrawfood.com, she writes: “What we think and how we act draw the same energy to us. So be sure your thoughts and actions are what you want to attract. Practice kindness, love and compassion. We need all the positive energy from everyone.”

I say to women all the time, even for people who are overweight, diets don’t work. You have to think health. Think about your health. And I think that makes a big difference, because that’s a positive thing. “I’m doing this to be healthy.” If you’re on a diet, you feel deprived. And I think that’s not a good mental attitude to have. So my focus is on staying healthy. My focus is also on being kind, and I try not to be judgmental. I really feel I accept all people, meat-eaters or non-meat-eaters. I do think we live by example. I think that so many people have caught on to what I do, and want to do it.

While many people her age are less active in their retirement years, Mimi is currently busy authoring a book with delicious recipes to ease others into the vegan lifestyle. Every day, she spends hours to reply to requests and questions about healthier food alternatives from her 8,300+ fans on Facebook.com and countless others across the Internet. Mimi also travels to speak at events and participates in media interviews on the importance of a loving, animal-free lifestyle.

I think a vegan life is very important. I think it’s a major thing not to eat animals. I think it’s not good for you, number one, very unhealthy. As a compassionate person, you feel better about yourself that you know you didn’t take a life. And I think that’s a very important thing for me, how I feel about myself. I like who I am because of that. It does something for me inside. I’m careful about what I eat, I make sure that I eat hydrating foods, and I don’t take any supplements right now. I might need it down the line, but right now I feel great, all my tests are running well. I think I’m in peak health for someone who’s 72. So let’s see what happens in my 80s and 90s.

Visit the fantastic and forever young Ms. Mimi Kirk online at YoungonRawFood.com or search “Mimi Kirk” on Facebook.com to wish her a Happy Belated Birthday!

We thank you, Ms. Mimi Kirk, for your beautiful example of the benefits of a kind, vegan lifestyle. May Heaven bless you with many, many more years of radiant health and happiness as you continue to inspire others to adopt the plant-based diet and a compassionate way of living. Thank you, graceful viewers, for joining us for Vegetarian Elite. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television for Between Master and Disciples. Blessed be your noble deeds for a peaceful and gentler world.